Canister vacuums are well-known in the art and typically include an air flow path in a single direction. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 6,148,474, incorporated fully herein in its entirety by reference, discloses a well-known canister vacuum 10 that has air intake 16 disposed at the front of the canister and an air exhaust 18 disposed at the back of the canister. The canister includes motor 20 and fan 22 disposed in a linear fashion between air intake 16 and air exhaust 18 such that air flows through the canister in a single direction inside the canister. Canister vacuums having such an airflow do not make efficient use of all available space within the canister and thus can be large, heavy, and cumbersome. Such vacuums can also be inefficient and noisy due to vibrations and loss of air through unsealed areas.